It seems like just yesterday I was writing my 2023 year in review. Now the day after Christmas, reflecting on how this last trip around the sun was. To say that 2024 was not an emotional roller coaster would be an absolute lie. As with anything, to quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker” which we have translated into his ever popular quote, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” If I was to give a playlist title to 2024, this would be it. Now, “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. Join me in on a journey of my 2024 year in review”
Life
Well, this was the year that I wish I could forget. The wife was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia more commonly known as AML. This sent the better part of this year into one of the worst roller coaster rides that you can possibly imagine. I quite never believed in divine intervention before March 25th. There was a higher power that was telling me not to stay on that plane. If you want to read more about it, you can do so here.
Now today, she is 100% in remission and she has been cleared to resume her normal life. There will still be some testing that the doctors want, but, this is now in the rear view mirror.
The people who not only helped us during this time, but was there for me and my own sanity, I appreciate you. If anyone reading this is going through anything where they need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate in reaching out. It is tough to reach out to people but please do. It does not make you weaker. We need to normalize asking for help when help is needed.
Wellbeing
As if there was not enough going on. I generally wrap myself in spin classes to get my mind off of things. I had a goal to beat my 256 rides in 2023. With everything that happened, I thought it would be alot less. I currently have 143 rides under my belt as of 12/26/2024 and anticipate to add 2-4 more rides to that. With all that was going on I am shocked that it was that many but glad I still broke 100.
Mindfulness
Dealing with the stress of 2024, I turned to something new. Well not something completely new, more like I was revisiting an old friend who I have not seen in ages. I got back into journaling and meditation. During the course of 2024, this helped more than I would ever imagine that it would. Giving yourself that time and allowing yourself to just sit in the moment and reflect on the day and what happened throughout the day is a game changer. It was extremely difficult to make sure I stayed on track with these, especially with my travel schedule. One thing that I did was I used an app called TickTick to alert me around 10PM nightly to remind me that I had not yet either journaled or mediated.
The way that this has helped and continues to help is something that I never thought that I would stick with. I am glad that I did, and I am looking forward to continuing this through 2025.
Professional Life
With all that was going on in my personal life, could there be any time for anything in my professional life? When I am done, you are going to ask if I found a way to stretch a day to more than 24 hours. I can tell you with 100% certainly that no, I did not bend time nor did I invent a time machine to go backwards and do several things in parallel. Before I get into it, Forward was amazing during the time when I needed to shift focus from work to personal life. I can say tha they have proven that when they say “family first” they mean it.
OK, so what happened in 2024 in my professional life? There were several things I wanted to check off the list this year and boy, I did that and then some. If you know me, you know that I do not normally like being the center of attention, but with this new role, I have had to break the walls down, just like (IYKYK)
To be honest, I am kind of liking the new me. I always had the knowledge, just was always afraid to spit it out. Don’t let that fear get in your way, you might miss your calling and not get that second chance like I did.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see what 2024 had in store
Networking Field Day 34
This is going to be the TL: DR from Presenting at Networking Field Day 34. When you are asked to do something, and you want to make sure that you give the people a lasting impression what can you possibly do? Oh, I know cut off a delegate (Sorry Aaron) and put the listeners into a situation that you know they have been in 100% before, down to the screaming boss!
Packet Pushers Heavy Networking Podcast
This was one for the old bucket list. Being in the industry, you often stumbled across a packet pushers podcast. Now being on one, was a surreal experience. I blogged about the whole experience here: My Experience on The Packet Pushers – Heavy Networking Podcast
Presenting at a Conference
The final bucket list thing that was accomplished this year was having a presentation slot at a conference, specifically Gartner IOCS in Las Vegas. This was different than the other two. Yes I am talking in front of a group of people, but I don’t know how many. Any of the Tech Field Days, I know I am talking to at least the number of delegates in the room. Packet Pushers, I know I was at least having a conversation with Ethan and Drew. What had me on edge was will I just be presenting to a co-worker who was recording the presentation.
Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long to do it, I was slotted on Day 1 at 4:45PM. After the laptop was setup, I had about a minute to gather my thoughts, and away we went. I normally look around the crowd when I do my thing.
I need to let them know in a short amount of time that I know the pain they are going through and I look for reactions to things that I am saying. Having lived it for a long time, I know how they feel. A few people who were sitting listening gave me this look:
Once I saw that, I knew they instantly felt what they have felt in the past and were curious as to how they can not have to deal with it.
Lets wrap this up
2024 was one of those years that I wish I could forget, but it is also a year that I grew both personally and professionally. I am excited to start 2025 and see what is going to happen! What did you set out to accomplish in 2024 and did you meet that goal? Let me know in the comments below or over on my socials. Have a healthy and safe new year! See you all on the next one